Shrewsbury schools report signs of budget strain

SHREWSBURY — School Committee members said they are starting to see the effects of higher class sizes after the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education lowered the ranking of all MCAS-eligible schools in the district from Level 1 to Level 2.

Superintendent Joseph M. Sawyer said at Wednesday night's meeting that class sizes are well above School Committee guidelines, averaging 26 to 30 students per classroom.

Additionally, he said the school district has been skimping for years, putting off textbook purchases and technology upgrades in an effort to be frugal.

He said that as a result the school district is not up to date with state-mandated curriculum changes, and the results are starting to show. With the exception of Parker Road Preschool and Beal Early Childhood Center, which don't have Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System data, the other five schools in the district saw their MCAS performance ranking drop from a Level 1, the highest ranking, to Level 2.

"This is not the trend we want to see," Mr. Sawyer said. "We have insufficient resources to meet student needs."

He said his No. 1 priority right now is to limit further damage to the school district and to try to restore the quality of education to current students that their predecessors received.

"What this says to me is that budgets have consequences," School Committee member Jason F. Palitsch said. "I would have a hard time accepting that higher class sizes are not playing a role here." Mr. Palitsch said the top priority for the fiscal 2015 school budget cycle will be lowering class sizes and using innovation to maximize resources and reduce costs.